Natalie Portman needed a personal life

Natalie Portman thinks it has been important to keep her family and friends ''completely separate'' from her work.

Natalie Portman has been ''saved'' by keeping her personal life ''completely separate'' from her work.

The 37-year-old actress - who has children Aleph, seven, and Amalia, 18 months, with husband Benjamin Millepied - made her first movie, 'Leon', when she was just 13 and thinks staying grounded has saved her from the fates of the two former child stars who feature in her new movies, singer Celeste in 'Vox Lux' and the titular TV actor in 'The Life and Death of John F. Donovan'.

Asked what had ''saved'' her from their fates, she said: ''[The presence of people who] care about you, regardless of where you are in your career.

''My family and my friends are completely separate from my work side, so no matter where I was, it didn't affect my relationships.

''You see with Celeste or John F. Donovan that some of the people they hold dearest to them urge them to go on when they're at their breaking point, because they're profiting off their success. I think that's really dangerous, when you can't separate the emotion from the business.''

Natalie is aware she's regarded as a ''celebrity'' but she's still able to lead a quiet life.

She told the Guardian newspaper: ''In my real life, I feel exposed to the public eye and the concept of celebrity is part of my life.

''But I do also lead a private, quiet life that is relatively guarded from the excesses we see in both the films. So I have access to both worlds.''

The 'Jackie' actress has been a vocal supporter of the #MeToo and Time's Up movements and though she thinks a lot of ''incredible'' changes have taken place, she still believes there's a long way to go.

She said: ''There have been incredible conversations about wage gap and representation in everything from who's getting to direct films and television, to who gets to review films.

''So there's so many incredible changes that have come on quite quickly. But there's also a lot to be done, because it's a systemic issue that's embedded in our culture, and even in everyone's psyches, men and women alike.''